Russ Craft, Player on 2 Eagles’ Title Teams, Is Dead at 89

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Russ Craft, a member of the Philadelphia Eagles’ 1948 and 1949 championship teams who shares the N.F.L. record of four interceptions in a game, died Tuesday in Wellsburg, W. Va. He was 89.

The Eagles announced his death Thursday.

Craft was a defensive back and halfback who played for the Eagles from 1946 to 1953 and for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1953 to 1955.

His record four interceptions came against the Chicago Cardinals in September 1950. He also scored a touchdown in the Eagles’ 28-21 loss to the Cardinals in the 1947 title game. The Eagles and the Cardinals, now based in Arizona, will face each other Sunday in the National Football Conference championship game.

In 1948, Craft was a member of the Eagles in what became known as the Blizzard Bowl, in which the Eagles’ defense overwhelmed the Cardinals on the way to a 7-0 victory that earned Philadelphia its first N.F.L. championship.